County: Louth Site name: BRAGANSTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0461
Author: Giles Dawkes and Nicola Rohan, ADS Ltd.
Site type: Burnt spread
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 702663m, N 795782m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.901252, -6.437789
The site was discovered during monitoring of topsoil-stripping along the route of the proposed south–north gas pipeline to be constructed by Bord Gáis Éireann. The site (32F08) was located in Field 8 north of Road Crossing 32 (RDX32) in the townland of Braganstown, Co. Louth. Archaeological investigations were conducted during the first week of June 2006.
The site area measured 9.1m north–south by 6.4m. It contained a burnt spread within a shallow depression that was close to the south bank of a small unnamed tributary of the River Glyde. The burnt spread was subcircular in plan and measured 5.8m in length, 5.4m in width and 0.02–0.2m in depth. It was composed of two deposits: the uppermost deposit was loose black sandy silt with frequent medium-sized angular stones and frequent charcoal inclusions that varied in depth from 0.1–0.2m; the lower was loose charcoal-rich sandy clay that was 0.02–0.06m in depth and 4.4m in width and length. No hearths or troughs were uncovered during the excavation, but additional features may be present beyond the limits of the pipeline corridor. There were no finds recovered from the site.
The age of this site is unknown. Post-excavation work is currently in progress, so it is probable that radiocarbon, macrobotanical and microbotanical analyses of collected samples will provide a date for the site and information relating to its function.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Co. Dublin
